Meaningless Numbers (boyxboy) part 1

Chapter 2

Kai slammed the boxes on top of each other, sulking to himself. A wave of the cardboard scent caught in his nose, which wrinkled in response.

"Kai, be careful with those!"  

He shot his sister a dirty look, telling her to back off.

"Sheesh, whats wrong with you," she complained.

Everything, he thought. He had rushed home after the incident with Jace, relieved that his threat, or whatever it was, wouldn't be able to reach Kai once he and his family got into the car and hit the road. But, his spirits fell when he got the unfortunate news. Why were they waiting another day to leave? Why tomorrow morning instead of tonight?

I want free of this town.

Kai finished piling the boxes into the truck and went inside, wishing for tomorrow to hurry. He couldn't stand the memories of all the torture he had gone through throughout the years of living here. It was the place where his father had been killed just two years prior. It was where he had locked himself for days on end in his room, away from society and away from the people who constantly picked on him to stimulate their own amusement.

Its not fair, he told himself. I don't want to stay any longer than I have to.

He stomped into his room and slammed his door, crawling into the deep blue sleeping bag sprawled out across the empty carpet.

laying on his back, his thoughts flashed back to the look in Jace's eyes as he had stared down at him back at the school. What had made his stare as intense as it was? Had it been anger? No, he concluded. it was something deeper. It was pain. betrayal.

Kai lightly brushed the bruise on his cheek with his fingers, wondering how the kid's personal feelings were related to Kai, the person he physically and verbally abused on a regular basis. I'm not sticking around to find out what it was.

Before he knew it, he fell into a dreamless sleep. 

••• 

Kai woke to a strange hissing noise outside of his window.  

He remembered getting up drugged by sleep sometime during the night to let in the nighttime's cool air. Now, the open window allowed him to clearly hear the shuffling through the his front yard.

What the hell?

Kai army crawled to the base of the  window, careful to not let himself be seen.

He chucked to himself at the irony of the possibility of it being a burglar. Wrong house to pick, everything worth anything is packed.

He inched his head up and over the windowsill, getting a better overall view of his yard.

There, next to one of the two vehicles his mom owned, was a shadow silhouetted against the silver car's passenger door. The figure was unidentifiable, dressed in black and hidden beneath a ski mask. A gleam caught his eye, a blade in the person's hand that caught light from the nearby street lamp. Kai watched as it was plunged into the nearest tire, adding volume to the other dying hissing sounds.

Then, the situation sunk in. Dammit!

Kai leaped up and raced out of the room, then shot his way out the front door.

"Hey!" He yelled, catching the figure by surprise. Kai's anger took control of his motions, causing him to run up an grab the collar of the figure's shirt in a tight grip. He pulled him up from his squatting position, noticing  the man's build and measured the intruder's height against his own. He was nearly three inches taller, but it didn't stop him from connecting his fist with the person's face, sending him hard against the pavement. The other guy slowly stood up, reaching over and pulling his knife from the tire during his ascent. He stared at Kai for a moment through the slits in the mask, the dark eyes seeming to sparkle a bit in amusement.

Kai launched for him once again, but this time missed his target. In one quick movement, the person dropped his knife and took off fleeing down the street.

Without shoes or a shirt, Kai wasn't in a position to chase after him. Shit, he cursed.

A chilling breeze hit against his bare skin, making him realize how utter alone he was out in the open of his driveway.

What am I supposed to do now?

•••

Early morning came, his mom and sister informed over what had happened the night before. examining the cars a bit closer, they found that every one of the tires of both vehicles were slashed.

"Looks like we're going to be delayed a few more days," Kai's mom declared.

"You kidding," Kai shouted.

"Kai," His mom exclaimed. "You better watch your attitude," she gave him a disapproving stare.

Another few days stuck in this hellhole. Great.

Kai felt his face get hot with anger.

"So does that mean we can still go to school until we get the money for the tires?"

Kai turned to his sister, a look of disgust plastered on his face.

"Hell no," he told her.

The little red head put her hands on her hips. "I wasn't asking you," she retorted.

Kai snorted and walked into the house and into the room he'd be stuck in until his mom's next paycheck, at least a week away. The teen channeled his pent up frustration through pounding his fist on wall in front of him.

This was going to be the longest week of his life.